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Ekaterina Levental- Complete Songs 1

SKU: 5028421960562
¥140.00
the album cover for Ekaterina Levental - Complete Songs 1
the album cover for Ekaterina Levental - Complete Songs 1

Medtner's legacy for solo piano is now widely esteemed alongside Rachmaninoff and other giants of the Russian 'silver age': melodists to their core, romantics at heart, yet rigorous craftsmen to their fingertips, who took their muse seriously and refined their inspiration to distil a peculiarly Russian spirit of melancholy in sound. However, around a third of Medtner's output, measured by opus numbers, was dedicated to voices, and this section of his music has received much less attention. Ekaterina Levental has dedicated herself to correcting this imbalance. The Uzbek-born, Dutch-resident mezzo-soprano has given all of Medtner's songs in concert with the pianist Frank Peters; together, they now embark on a recorded cycle. Medtner lacked nothing for self-sacrificing dedication to his art, and he chose to set the finest poets of his Russian homeland: Pushkin, Fet, Lermontov and others, and then Goethe and Eichendorff in German. Unlike Rachmaninoff he continued to write songs even after emigrating and settling in London. 'Medtner's musical vocabulary is very rich and expressive,' Levental and Peters explain in their own booklet note, which is printed together with English translations of the lyrics. 'Some songs immediately captivate you, others require a certain effort from the listener. Anyone who takes up the challenge, makes a discovery. Every song is a treasure and an intimate, spiritual confession from the composer to his listener.' In the category of 'immediate appeal' surely fall the two songs of Op.13: the ardent vocal response to Pushkin's Winter Evening perfectly underscored by the stormy piano part. No less unmistakably Russian in expression is the complementary Epitaph, triumphant even in it's mournfulness and like many other of the songs here not as stern as much of Medtner's piano music. Any listener looking for the composer's personal voice, behind the virtuoso keyboard fireworks, should start here.

Tracklist:

  1. 3 Romances, Op. 3: I. At The Gates Of The Holy Cloister
  2. 3 Romances, Op. 3: II. I've Lived To See Desire Vanish
  3. 3 Romances, Op. 3: On The Lake
  4. 2 Poems, Op. 13: I. Winter Evening
  5. 2 Poems, Op. 13: II. Epitaph
  6. 8 Poems, Op. 24: I. Day And Night
  7. 8 Poems, Op. 24: II. Willow, Why Do You Lower
  8. 8 Poems, Op. 24: III. The Wave And The Thought
  9. 8 Poems, Op. 24: IV. Twilight
  10. 8 Poems, Op. 24: V. I Am Dumbstruck
  11. 8 Poems, Op. 24: VI. Should A Smile Gently Brighten Your Face
  12. 8 Poems, Op. 24: VII. Tender Whisper, Timid Breathing
  13. 8 Poems, Op. 24: VIII. I Have Come To You, Delighted
  14. 7 Poems, Op. 28: I. Unexpected Rain
  15. 7 Poems, Op. 28: II. I Can't Listen To This Birdsong
  16. 7 Poems, Op. 28: III. Butterfly
  17. 7 Poems, Op. 28: IV. Heavy, Dark And Faded
  18. 7 Poems, Op. 28: V. Peace In Springtime
  19. 7 Poems, Op. 28: VI. I Sit Deep In Thought And Alone
  20. 7 Poems, Op. 28: VII. Lord, Send Your Comfort
  21. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: I. Muse
  22. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: II. The Singer
  23. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: III. Night Piece
  24. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: IV. The Horse
  25. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: V. Elegy
  26. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: VI. The Rose
  27. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: VII. Incantation
Format: New CD/Classical

Ekaterina Levental- Complete Songs 1

SKU: 5028421960562
¥140.00

Release Date: 08.28.2020

 
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Medtner's legacy for solo piano is now widely esteemed alongside Rachmaninoff and other giants of the Russian 'silver age': melodists to their core, romantics at heart, yet rigorous craftsmen to their fingertips, who took their muse seriously and refined their inspiration to distil a peculiarly Russian spirit of melancholy in sound. However, around a third of Medtner's output, measured by opus numbers, was dedicated to voices, and this section of his music has received much less attention. Ekaterina Levental has dedicated herself to correcting this imbalance. The Uzbek-born, Dutch-resident mezzo-soprano has given all of Medtner's songs in concert with the pianist Frank Peters; together, they now embark on a recorded cycle. Medtner lacked nothing for self-sacrificing dedication to his art, and he chose to set the finest poets of his Russian homeland: Pushkin, Fet, Lermontov and others, and then Goethe and Eichendorff in German. Unlike Rachmaninoff he continued to write songs even after emigrating and settling in London. 'Medtner's musical vocabulary is very rich and expressive,' Levental and Peters explain in their own booklet note, which is printed together with English translations of the lyrics. 'Some songs immediately captivate you, others require a certain effort from the listener. Anyone who takes up the challenge, makes a discovery. Every song is a treasure and an intimate, spiritual confession from the composer to his listener.' In the category of 'immediate appeal' surely fall the two songs of Op.13: the ardent vocal response to Pushkin's Winter Evening perfectly underscored by the stormy piano part. No less unmistakably Russian in expression is the complementary Epitaph, triumphant even in it's mournfulness and like many other of the songs here not as stern as much of Medtner's piano music. Any listener looking for the composer's personal voice, behind the virtuoso keyboard fireworks, should start here.

Tracklist:

  1. 3 Romances, Op. 3: I. At The Gates Of The Holy Cloister
  2. 3 Romances, Op. 3: II. I've Lived To See Desire Vanish
  3. 3 Romances, Op. 3: On The Lake
  4. 2 Poems, Op. 13: I. Winter Evening
  5. 2 Poems, Op. 13: II. Epitaph
  6. 8 Poems, Op. 24: I. Day And Night
  7. 8 Poems, Op. 24: II. Willow, Why Do You Lower
  8. 8 Poems, Op. 24: III. The Wave And The Thought
  9. 8 Poems, Op. 24: IV. Twilight
  10. 8 Poems, Op. 24: V. I Am Dumbstruck
  11. 8 Poems, Op. 24: VI. Should A Smile Gently Brighten Your Face
  12. 8 Poems, Op. 24: VII. Tender Whisper, Timid Breathing
  13. 8 Poems, Op. 24: VIII. I Have Come To You, Delighted
  14. 7 Poems, Op. 28: I. Unexpected Rain
  15. 7 Poems, Op. 28: II. I Can't Listen To This Birdsong
  16. 7 Poems, Op. 28: III. Butterfly
  17. 7 Poems, Op. 28: IV. Heavy, Dark And Faded
  18. 7 Poems, Op. 28: V. Peace In Springtime
  19. 7 Poems, Op. 28: VI. I Sit Deep In Thought And Alone
  20. 7 Poems, Op. 28: VII. Lord, Send Your Comfort
  21. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: I. Muse
  22. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: II. The Singer
  23. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: III. Night Piece
  24. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: IV. The Horse
  25. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: V. Elegy
  26. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: VI. The Rose
  27. 7 Poems After Pushkin, Op. 29: VII. Incantation